The present invention generally relates to the field of orthodontics, and more particularly to orthodontic appliances, such as shell appliances, and orthodontic tracking templates for determining when shell appliances may be applied after a wire-and-bracket treatment.
An objective of orthodontics is to move a patient's teeth to positions where function and/or aesthetics are optimized. Traditional affixed braces (i.e., a wire and brackets) exert a diminishing force on the teeth to gradually urge them toward desired positions. Over time and with a series of clinical visits, the orthodontist reactively adjusts the braces to establish new diminishing forces and move the teeth toward an acceptable final destination. In recent years, orthodontists may use wire and bracket planning software, such as Insignia, which is available from Ormco Corp. in Orange, Calif., where the planning software utilizes virtual 3D models of a patient's teeth, a wire, and brackets to assist in designing a desired virtual final tooth arrangement—no intermediate tooth arrangements.
Alternatives to conventional wire-and-bracket treatments became available in the late 1990s. For example, systems including a series of preformed patient-removable clear shell-shaped orthodontic appliances have become commercially available from Align Technology, Inc., Santa Clara, Calif., under the trade name Invisalign® System. An Invisalign® System appliance can be made from thin clear plastic and have tooth-receiving cavities. In use, the appliance is placed over the patient's teeth and typically removed after 2 weeks. Shell-shaped orthodontic appliances are designed to impart predetermined positioning or repositioning forces to the patient's teeth to obtain desired results. The imparted forces are resilient in nature and are associated with corresponding appliance elastic deformation. When used to reposition teeth, a series of individual appliances are worn by a patient to elastically reposition the patient's teeth over time. When used to retain teeth, one or more identical appliances are worn to restrain a patient's teeth in their current arrangement. The design of the shell-shaped appliances can rely on computer modeling of a series of planned successive tooth arrangements, and the individual appliances may be designed to be worn over the teeth and elastically reposition the teeth to each of the planned intermediate and final tooth arrangements.
Various deficiencies are known for wire-and-bracket treatments and patient-removable orthodontic appliance treatments. Accordingly, it is desirable to overcome such deficiencies when wire-and-bracket treatments and patient-removable orthodontic appliance treatments are performed in isolation.